A Stranger, A Lover
by hansolofan
Summary: That night, she had danced with and kissed a random stranger. For him, however, she was a lover. songfic on This Never Happened to Me Before by Paul McCartney. R&R please?


**I'm very sure, this never happened to me before**

Definitely. He had never met such a beautiful, intelligent, beautiful, perfect woman before, absolutely not. Sure, he had relationships before, but most of them had been flings, or turned ugly. At the beginning, it was mostly the girls who sought him out, who giggled and blushed flirtatiously while asking him out. When he agreed, it was mostly to humour them. But this was different. He felt an attraction towards this lady, this stranger he only knew from her letters, that he couldn't resist. Somehow, deep inside him. He felt that she was different. In some way that he just couldn't explain.

_She wouldn't call herself a playgirl. She went to clubs, she couldn't deny that, she drank, yes, but in her dictionary that hardly constituted as being a playgirl. She had a few relationships before, but most of them just didn't work out. The guy was too demanding, maybe, or too busy…there were loads of reasons. _

_But here she was, at her birthday party, swaying to a love song in the arms of a guy she had just met. Unbelievable._

**I met you and now I'm sure**

When Morgan had called his girlfriend Kate and said that she was a doctor, he felt his heart stop, his breath catch in his throat. Was this the same Kate they were referring to?

If so, Kate had a boyfriend? He felt his heart sink. She was living with him, so they had to be pretty close. Then why did she say she was single? And why did she act like she was interested in him? Maybe she wasn't, maybe it was just his imagination fooling him. Regardless, he had to see her. So he went.

When he saw her, he knew instantly. It was her. Even dressed casually, she looked wonderful.

_When she unlocked the door, the room was all dark. She paused, then sighed resignedly. Morgan was late home again. _

_But the lights flicked on and Morgan led a group of people, singing a birthday song, holding out a layered cake with candles on top. "ohhh…" she let out, delighted that Morgan had thought of organizing this for her, for even remembering her birthday. She noticed a man in the crowd, standing directly behind Morgan , waving tentatively and diffidently at her. He was dressed in a brown pullover and pants, but he looked really handsome. Their eyes locked for a fleeting moment and he smiled. Unconsciosuly, she grinned back, feeling her stomach flutter._

**This never happened before**

He tightened his grip around her and she let herself be pulled closer. It was a long time since he had danced with a girl so intimately, isolated in the soft moonlight. He didn't know about her, but he thought it was a really romantic atmosphere. It had been a long time since his last true love and he had forgotten how it felt like, to hold a woman, so pliant, so vulnerable, so trusting, in his arms.

_She rested her cheek against his chest. A voice inside her was screaming hysterically, "what do you think you're doing, Kate? Here you are, at your own birthday party, dancing with a guy you barely know! Why??? Stop right now, before Morgan sees!" the other one was completely oblivious to everyone and everything around her as she murmured inwardly, "Mmmm…this feels good…this guy is hot and Morgan hardly dances with me. In fact, he never has. This guy…I don't know how to say it, but he's not just some ordinary guy. I've got this feeling about it…he's important…"_

"_Bullshit! You're kidding yourself, you're fantasizing…how can he be someone important in your life? Yes, he'll be important if Morgan comes out now and breaks up with you because of him!" _

_but the other voice was reveling in the pleasure she felt, too content and happy to retort._

**Now I see, this is the way it's supposed to be**

He was invited as a last-minute guest by Kate's boyfriend; he really had no right to be standing there dancing with the birthday girl. Mona seemed to like him, but that feeling wasn't mutual. He went along with her because he didn't want to hurt her, and he had been so relieved when Jack ran away just when she was asking him out. He had been racking his mind frantically for a way to demur without offending her; thankfully she seemed to have forgotten.

He had come to love writing to Kate and anticipating her replies. He had only known her then by her prose, by her style of writing, the way she worded her sentences, her handwriting. But words were more important than he anticipated: especially in a place where only they could exist.

But now, he could finally meet her, talk to her, more importantly, dance with her...he was elated.

_Guilt ebbed in her like a wave, coming and going_._ She felt like she was having an extra-marital affair. Angrily, she tried to shake it away. This was ludicrous! She wasn't married or even engaged to Morgan, why should she feel that way? Anyway, Morgan had not exactly been an awesome and supportive boyfriend. This...this was different. This felt right. Morgan should be the one dancing with her, though, not staying inside to entertain the guests. If she confronted him, she could just imagine his reaction, " Are you crazy, Kate? those people are your friends, people who care about you, and some of them are my business associates! I don't want to ruin my reputation, or have people think i'm an ungracious host, you know!" he wouldn't understand. People would not hold it against him, they understand. Anyway, who cares...he had probably not even noticed her absence. _

**I met you and now I see**

He remembered how her eyes seemed to twist into his (he couldn't think of any other way to describe it) when they first met. At that time, he felt like some connection had been made, some invisible bond had been forged. They were connected, really, in many ways. They were both to live in the lake house, just at different times; they were both single, and kinda lonely; they both needed each other. It paine dhim, actually, to know that although he had many memories of their correspondence (he didn't think 'courtship' was the right word), she didn't know that two years later, she would be so close to him, although time was the barrier that stood between them. To her, he was probably just some dashing stranger and this dance, however important to him, was probably just for fun to her.

_Her hands ran down his shoulders and rested on his back. She felt his muscles beneath his shirt: so tense, so taut, such a palatable feeling. He seemed perfect to her._

**This is the way it should be**

He swayed to ther rhythm, pulling her with him.

_she wished this song would last forever...well, a little longer, at least, so they could keep on dancing._

**This is the way it should be for lovers**

Lovers? Is that what he could call them? well, in 2006, maybe, but certainly not now. He glanced at Kate's face. Does she know that two years later, we would be penpals, not in different countries, but in different times?

_She wished she could consider the both of them lovers. He was good-looking, an architect, and he just seemed so...she struggled to find a word that aptly described him, but found words instead: gentle, funny, nice, charming...she could go on forever. From their brief conversation, she already knew so much about him. She felt like she had known him for her whole life. _

_Okay, she knew Morgan loved her, he wasn't that bad actually( though in the looks factor he was just average) and it was incredibly sweet of him to organize a birthday party for her. She remembered all too well what had happened the year before. He was in Dubai at that time, and although he called back, just like any other day, he didn't mention it at all. It was only a month later when he realized and in a panicked frenzy he apologized and got her a present. She forgave him; after all, he was a busy man, but she still felt hurt sometimes. _

**They shouldn't go it alone**

He wished this night would last forever. He knew this night would be his only opportunity to meet her, to hold her in his arms. It was a good thing Morgan was in the house, far away from them. The fact that Kate was dancing willingly with him had to mean her relationship with Morgan had to be strained.

_She had been a popular girl in school last time, friends with almost the entire school cohort, sought after by most of the guys. But after she got her degree and went out to work, she lost contact with most of her friends. Lonely was an understatement. That was why she agreed when a man in a cafe introduced himself as Morgan--she couldn't even remember the name of the cafe--and subsequently asked her out. She just didn't want to walk the tumultous path of life alone. _

**it's not so good when you're on your own**

No one could live a lonely life, that was human nature, no doubt about it. Most people didn't fear death, the great dark curtain that signified the end of a performance; instead, it was the prospect of loneliness that scared them. he imagined going about his life in solitude, and shuddered involuntarily. He needed his friends, he needed his family, he neede her.

_She clung onto him tightly. _

**So come to me. now we can be what we wanna be**

I wish, he thought bitterly. Why did fate have to be so cruel to place them two years apart?why did she even have to have a boyfriend?

_For a moment, she imagined what it would be like if Alex was her boyfriend. They could go for dinner together, he wouild make her laugh, maybe they would dance like this again. What did he do during his free time? Did he play tennis, golf, billiard? Did he like to watch movies? Did he have any siblings? There was so much about him that remained a mystery to her; she yearned to find out more. _

**I love you and now I see**

He loved her, no doubt about it, but he daren't admit it. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she just wanted a normal friendship?What if he was rejected? He had to be sure before telling her. He was a coward, he knew, but women, they were so unpredictable.

_Love. That word ha dleft her lips a long time ago and had never been uttered again. Yes, she loved Morgan in the beginning, but now she was not so sure. Once upon a time they had smiled when just looking at each other, had kissed so lovingly, every chance they had, had went out for candlelit dinners. He had even given her roses on Valentine's Day. But he was a busy man, and had to travel quite frequently. She soon found out, no matter how many calls he made, no matter how many times he reaffirmed his love for her, that distance diluted the once fiery passion between them. _

**This is the way it should be**

He pulled her closer to him, knowing that when the music stopped, he would leave, and who knew when they would meet again?

_The song's going to end soon, she realized ruefully. she shut out her mind and enjoyed the last moments. _

**This is the way it should be for lovers, **

**they shouldn't go it alone, **

**it's not so good when you're on your own**

**I'm very sure, this never happened to me before, **

**I met you and now I'm sure**

**This never happened before**

**This never happened before**

****

As the music slowly faded into nothing, she lifted her head from his shoulder, and gazed at him. he leaned slightly towards her, a little tentative. She parted her lips invitingly, her heart palpitating painfully in her chest. His warm, soft lips landed on hers and she closed her eyes, letting her senses and emotions overcome her. It was like a dream, a fantasy she wished would never end.

"Kate." The voice sounded far away, but she realized, with a jolt, that it belonged to Morgan. She stumbled away from Alex frantically, her body still tingling all over.

" I...was just talking to Alex about the...uh...lake house." she scrambled for an excuse, her face flaming, her eyes unable to meet Morgan's.

Morgan stared at her unblinkingly. "Great." he echoed hollowly.

And just like that, it was over. Between Morgan and her, a thin film appeared, that slowly, meticulously seperated them. But what hurt her more was that Alex was gone from her life forever.

For him, he couldn't meet her anymore, so her treasured that memory.

That night, she had danced and kissed a random stranger (or so she thought); for him, a lover.

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Please review! concrit and whatever else will be appreciated , as this is my first songfic.

please review:D

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